HT Omega Claro II

[JamesSneed]

Anyone know anything about this card? I just found it poking around looking at specs for the eClaro.

http://www.htomega.com/claro2.html

 

[gamerk316]

Huh, kinda looks like a beefed up version of the Halo, or a Claro XT minus the amp...Still, do we need ANOTHER C-Media CMI8788 derivative?

 

[mrlemmiwinks]

i read something somewhere about HT omega not having the ability to use dolby digital due to licensing, something to check out before you buy. the asus xonar stx cards are very good for music and movies but do not have hardware EAX. there is a software package you can download but i hear its not as good. sound blaster has eax and dolby but clarity is less than asus or ht omega

 

[gamerk316]

HT Omega does indeed have Dolby support; both HT Omega and ASUS use the same 2-3 C-Media chipsets, so their cards generally are very simmilar.

The only key difference is ASUS happens to have Directsound/EAX emulation, which HT Omega lacks.

 

[Fennecat]

Anyone know anything about this card? I just found it poking around looking at specs for the eClaro.

http://www.htomega.com/claro2.html

I too noticed it while trying to decide which of the Claros would best suit my needs.

From my comparison, it's the Claro Plus with an additional set of capacitors to suppress the loud 'POP!' noise when speakers are plugged in or removed.

I emailed them asking when it will be available and they responded saying it will be on Newegg, Amazon, and their own store sometime in the next week or so at the suggested retail price of $185.

P.S. The eClaro already has the anti-pop circuitry, plus the option of swapping the front/headphone opamp to change the 'color' of the audio for the same price. If you don't particularly give a hoot about sound color the choice comes down to which slots are available on your motherboard and breathing space for your other expansion cards.

 

[gamerk316]

^^ figured about as much. Guess they were overdue for a product refresh...

 

[tinnitus]

in the japanese market there is a cheap CMI8787-HG2PCI, it cost about 50 US dollar, from 2010.

it has AKM AK4396 DAC for the 2ch and 110db SNR. just for comparison.

 

[JamesSneed]

Best answer selected by jamessneed.